Package forming apparatus

ABSTRACT

994,978. Packaging. S. OMORI. Sept. 14, 1961 [Nov. 30, 1960], No. 32999/61. Heading B8C. A packaging machine comprises a horizontal filling nozzle around which a film is folded and heat sealed to form a tube, which is filled with material fed from the nozzle by a piston, two pairs of film holding elements positioned at the end of the injection cylinder which clear the contents from a portion of the tube, two sets of dies which operate to seal the tube at ends of the cleared portion, e.g. by applying a clip round the tube, and a cutter intermediate the two dies for cutting the film. The material contained in a hopper 1 is fed to the nozzle 2 by a piston 40. From the position shown in Fig. 14 the piston is rotated through 180 degrees to align an arcuate groove 41 in the piston with an outlet passage 56 to the filling nozzle. The piston is forwarded to eject the material contained in the cylinder out through the nozzle 2. The piston is then rotated through a further 180 degrees to connect the groove to the inlet passage 54 connected to the hopper 1, and withdrawn to the position shown to refill the cylinder with material from the hopper 1. A web 3 of thermoplastics material is fed from a roll 4 and formed into a tube, the longitudinal seam being sealed by an electric heater B having a reciprocating foot 6. The nozzle 2 has a portion of square cross-section where the foot acts. The foot is pressed against one of the flat faces so that a broad seam may be formed. The filled tube is divided into package lengths as follows:-Pairs of plates 8, 81 and 9, 9&lt;SP&gt;1&lt;/SP&gt; are positioned just beyond the end of the nozzle. The plates 9, 9&lt;SP&gt;1&lt;/SP&gt; are mounted on racks 11, 11&lt;SP&gt;1&lt;/SP&gt; keyed to rotatable shaft 10, rotation causing the plates 9, 9&lt;SP&gt;1&lt;/SP&gt; to move together or apart. The plates 8, 8&lt;SP&gt;1&lt;/SP&gt; are mounted on a similar assembly not shown. From the position shown in Fig. 5 the pairs of plates are moved together by rotation of the shaft 10 to flatten a portion of tube. The pair 9, 9&lt;SP&gt;1&lt;/SP&gt; is then moved away from the pair 8, 8&lt;SP&gt;1&lt;/SP&gt; as indicated in Fig. 5 to clear the contents from the portion of the tube now between them and a pair of guides (not shown) move in to bunch the flattened portion. Two pairs of dies 27, 28 then operate to apply two metal clips around the flattened and bunched portion of tube between the plates, and a cutter, Fig. 9 (not shown), cuts through the tube between the applied clips.

Nov. 2, 1965 SHOZO OMORI PACKAGE FORMING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 29. 1961 I lNVENTOR SHoZo Oman Affomeys Nov. 2, 1965 sHozo OMORI 3,214,883

PACKAGE FORMING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 29, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 W WM Nov. 2, 1965 SHOZO OMORI 3,214,8

PACKAGE FORMING APPARATUS Filed Nov 29, 1961 4 Sheets8heet 3 [N VE N TOR .Snozo Oman" Attorneys Nov. 2, 1965 SHOZO OMORI PACKAGE FORMING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Nov. 29, 1961 INVENTOR .Shozo Omon' by CXJMKJQA A Attorneys United States Patent 3,214,883 PAQKAGE FSRMING APPARATUS Shozo ()mori, 44- Shimo Negishi-cho, Daito-ku, Tokyo, Japan Filed Nov. 29, 1961, Ser. No. 157,040 Claims priority, application Japan, Nov. 30, 1960, 35/ 46,7 55 4 Claims. (Cl. 53-182) This application is a continuation-in-part of applica tion, Serial No. 151,357, filed November 9, 1961, now abandoned.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing filled containers in the form of a tubular casing tied off and sealed on both ends thereof.

Apparatus for producing such containers is presently in use, but difiiculties have been experienced with the flat metal clips which are used to tie off the ends of the tubular casing pinching the casing material and thereby weakening it so that it later ruptures, or actually puncturing the casing material thereby spoiling the package.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus which takes packaging material from a roll of such material and forms it into a continuous tube by sealing overlapped edges of the material, and then closes oil and ties one end of the tube and fills the tube and then closes off the tube and ties it to form the other end of the package without punching or puncturing the packaging material.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a simple apparatus which performs the closing and tying ofl of the end of one package while simultaneously closing and tying off the tube to form one end or" the next package and severing the tube to separate a completed package.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which performs the closing and tying off of the package by the use of lengths of round wire cut from a roll of wire, instead of by flat clips, in such a manner that the sharp end edges where the lengths of wire are cut from the roll never touch the material of the package and therefore have no chance to pinch or rupture it.

Other and further objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following specification and claims, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of the apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional View taken along line 44 of FIG. 3 and showing a part of the casing of the apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view showing the respective movements of the parts of the apparatus which press the tube flat and presses it to remove the contents of the tube from between the flattened walls of the tube;

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic plan view showing the relative positions of the parts of the apparatus after the tube has been pressed flat and it is about to be tied off and severed;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of the means for applying the tying means to the flattened tube before the parts are moved toward each other;

FIG. 7a is a view similar to FIG. 7 after the flattened tube has been bunched up and before the typing olf operation has begun;

3,214,883 Patented Nov. 2, 1965 FIG. 7b is a view similar to FIG. 7 after the initial crimping of the wire tie;

FIG. 70 is a view similar to FIG. 7 after the completion of the crimping of the tie;

FIG. 7d is an elevation view of the tie in the position prior to crimping as in FIG. 7a;

FIG. 7e is a view similar to FIG. 7a with the tie partially crimped as in FIG. 7b;

FIG. 7f is a view similar to FIG. 7d with the tie completely crimped as in FIG. 70;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of the means for holding and severing the flattened tube;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken on line 9--9 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an elevation view showing the holding and severing means prior to severing the tube and in relation to the means of FIG. 7;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged elevation view of the injection cylinder and welding means of the apparatus;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view along the line 1212 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view along the line 13-13 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is an enlarged elevation view, partly in section, of the portion of the apparatus for injecting material into the tubular package;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of the piston of the apparatus of FIG. 14; and

FIG. 16 is a schematic View of the condition of the end of the injection cylinder within the package at one stage of the filling and tying 01f operation.

As seen in FIG. 1, the apparatus has a filling portion which has a hopper 1 from which the material to be packaged is fed by a feeding means A through an injection cylinder 2, shown in detail in FIGS. 11-13. The end 2]) of the injection cylinder 2 passes in a horizontal position beneath a welding head 6 of a tube welding means B, at which point the normally circular cross section of the injection cylinder 2 is square, as at 2'. The injection cylinder ends at a point 2b beyond the welding means B and just before a. cutting and tying means generally indicated at C.

A supply of packaging material 3 in the form of a long strip is rolled around a supply roller 4, and from there is led around a guide roller 5 and then is wrapped around the injection cylinder 2 so that it overlaps at the square cross sectioned portion 2' of the injection cylinder. The shape of the injection cylinder not only prevents the packaging material from falling off the injection cylinder, but it provides a fiat surface 2a against which the welding head can press the overlapping edges of the packaging material in order to weld it.

The end of the packaging material, which has been tied off by a previous operation is positioned over the end 2b of the injection cylinder, and the overlapping edges are sealed. Thus as the material to be packaged is injected through the end of the injection cylinder, the package will be formed as at P and will move past the cutting and tying means C until a package of the desired length has been formed. Ther-eupon, the cutting and tying means will cause plates 8 and 9 to engage the package and press it flat, and at the same time will squeeze the packaged material both forward into the formed package so as to fill it tightly and back toward the injection cylinder 2. Cutting and tying heads 27 and 28 then move into engagement with the package to cut the portion from which the packaged material has been squeezed and tie oif the end of the filled portion which has moved beyond the cutting and tying off means as well as the end toward the injection cylinder.

The details of the welding means are shown in FIG.

2, in which the welding head 6 is shown positioned just above the square section 2 of the injection cylinder. The welding head is mounted on a piston 6a slidable in the housing 6b. A link 6c is connected to the piston 6m, and is pivoted to the housing at 60. A rod 7a having a counterweight 7 thereon is pivoted at 7b to the other end of the link 60, and rod 7a is driven from a cam (not shown) on the shaft of the driving means for the overall apparatus. The counterweight balances the weight of the welding head 6 and piston 6a so that the force required to lift the welding head from the packaging material on the injection cylinder 2 is small.

The details of the cutting and tying means B are shown in FIGS. 3-10, in which a slider 13 is slidably mounted within a housing on a key moving in a keyway in plate 15 on the bottom of the housing. Passing through the slider 13 parallel to the direction in which the key and keyway extend is a splined shaft 10 rotatably mounted in the housing and oscillatingly driven by a crank 10a and a connecting rod 10b from the main shaft of the apparatus (not shown). Shaft 10 also passes through a block 862 which is fixed in the housing 14.

Slidably mounted in the slider 13 transversely of the shaft 10 are two rods 11, one of which passes above the splined shaft 10 and has rack teeth 11' along the bottom thereof in engagement therewith, and the other of which passes below the splined shaft 10 has rack teeth 11 along the top thereof in engagement therewith. A third rod 11a merely slides through the slider 13 below the lower rod 11. Mounted between the free ends of the upper rod 11 and rod 11a on laterally extending arms 9a thereon is a blade 9, while on a laterally extending arm 9'LE on the lower rod 11 is mounted a blade 9' which is opposed to the blade 9. In the position shown in FIG. 3,, the opposed blades 9 and 9 are spaced from each other a distance suflicient to allow the filled package to pass between them.

In a recess in the bottom of slider 13 is a rounded end of a crank 17, pivoted at 17a to the housing 14, and having a link 16 pivotally linked to the other end thereof. The link 16 is driven by a cam (not shown) on the main drive shaft of the apparatus.

Upper and lower rods 8b are slidably mounted in the fixed block 8a: in the housing 14, and are engaged with the splined shaft 10 in the same manner as shafts 11. On the upper shaft 8a is a blade 8, and on the lower shaft 8a is a blade 8 opposed to the blade 8 in the same manner as the blades 9 and 9' are opposed.

Spaced along the apparatus from the blades 8, 8', 9 and 9 in the position as they are shown in FIG. 1 are two sets of tying blades 27 and 28. Upper tying blades 28 are in the form of a die having a recess 30 therein, while lower blades 27 have a pair of spring loaded tie holding arms 37 in grooves 70 on one side thereof and the arms project upwardly along the blade 27 and toward each other for holding a V-shaped tie 2.9 made of round wire. Springs 39 provide the spring loading for the arms 37. The blades 27 each have a deep narrow recess 27b therein in the portion of the blade adjacent the arms 37 and lying between the arms 37. The ends of arms 37 and the top of blade 27 form a substantially V-shaped recess 27d between them. The blades 27 and 28 are slidably mounted in the casing 14 where it extends out over the path of the package through the apparatus, and are driven up and down by shafts 27a and 2311 which are connected by means (not shown) with the main drive shaft for the apparatus as shown in FIGS. 7a-7c.

Means for holding and cutting the package are shown in FIGS. 810, in which there is shown a portion of the casing 14 on the opposite side of the machine from the portion of the casing shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In the casing are two vertically spaced supports 33a and 33b through which is slidable a rod 34. On the upper end of the rod 34 is mounted a guide member 33. The rod 34 extends slidably through the guide member 33, having a collar 34a on the bottom side of the guide member which causes the guide member 33 to be lifted when the rod 34 moves up, and having a collar 34b on the top of the guide member 33 with a spring 340 between the collar 34b and the guide member. Sector gear 25, pivoted to casing 14 at 25a is geared to rack 26 on rod 34, and when link 24 is moved up and down from the main shaft (not shown) of the apparatus, the rod 34 is also moved up and down. On the other end of the glide member 33 is a pin 35 depending from the guide member 33 and slidable through the support 33a to guide the other end of the guide member 33 when it is moving vertically.

On the guide member 33 is an ear 219 on which is pivoted a lever 23. At one end of the lever 23 is a compressed spring 21 urging the end of the lever 23 upwardly away from the guide member 33. To the other end of the lever 23 is pivoted a crank 1%, the center of which has an elongated solt 1917 by means of which crank 19a is slidingly pivoted to a pivot on the guide member 33. Crank 19a has a cutting blade 19 on the free end thereof. An abutment 22 is mounted on the upper support 33a and projects through an aperture 330 in the guide member 33 to abut the lever 23 when the guide member is in the lowermost position. Projecting from each end of the guide member 33 and in the same direction as the crank 13a is an arm 32 having a recess 31 therein which is narrower than the recess on the blade 28 of the tying means and which corresponds generally to the recesses 27b in blades 27.

From FIG. 6 it will be seen that the cutting blade 19 on the end of the crank arm 19a is at the center of the portion of the package to be cut, while at equal distances to either side of the crank arm are the opposed pairs of tying blades 27 and 2S. Immediately outside of the tying blades 28 are the arms 32. The recess 30 on blade 23 is aligned with the recess 3-1 on arm 32, as seen in FIG. 10.

In operation, after a length of filled package has been produced by the injection of material to be packaged into the sealed tubular packaging material, and the apparatus is in the position shown in FIG. 1 with the blades 8 and 8' immediately beside blades 9 and 9 and the opposed blades separated, and with the tying blades vertically spaced and the rod 34 of the cutting means raised so that the arms 32 are raised and the cutting blade crank arm 19a has been pivoted in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 9 so that the cutting blade is raised, the shaft 10 is first rotated by movement of the connecting rod l10b to move the rods 11 and the rods 8b so as to move the opposed pairs of blades 8 and 8' and 9 and 9' together to squeeze the filled package between them. The crank 17 is then rotated by movement of the link 16 to move the slider 13 away from the fixed block 8a, thus moving the blades 9 and 9' away from blades 8 and 3. This action serves to squeeze the packaged material from between the now flattened sides of the tubular package, in one direction toward a filled package, and in the other direction back toward the injection cylinder 2. The portion of the package then appears in elevation as seen in FIG. 16, while in plan it appears as in FIG. 6 and in section as seen in FIG. 10.

The shafts 27a and 28a are then rotated in timed rela tionship to first bring the blade 27 into contact with the flattened package, while at the same time the rod 34 is lowered to bring the arms 32 down on the flattened portion of the package to bunch up the package material into the space formed by the recess 31 and recess 27b. The flattened tube then has the appearance as shown in FIG. 7a. The blade 28 with the crimping recess 30 therein is then lowered, and as it engages the ends of the round wire tie 29, these ends are bent together until the apparatus with the tie therein is in the position shown in FIG. 75. It will be noted that the fiat lower edge of blade 28 has at this point engaged the tops of the arms 37 which up to this time have been holding the V-shaped wire tie upright so that the upper ends will be crimped shut when blade 28 descends. However upon further downward movement of the blade 28, the arms 37 are caused to slide down the grooves 70 against the spring loading thereof so that the ends thereof are withdrawn from the wire tie 29 and the tie is no longer supported by the arms. Thereupon, upon further movement of the blade 28 down toward the blade 27, the bottom of the tie is supported in the bottom 27c of the V-shaped recess 27:! while the sides are unsupported, while the top is prevented from spreading by the recess 31) in the blade 28. The result is the bulging out of the sides of the tie 29 and the pressing together of the inside side surfaces of the ends of the length of wire formed into the tie, thereby leaving the butt ends of the length of wire facing upwardly and outwardly of the tie.

It will .thus be seen that by the action of the blades 27 and arms 32 that the flattened package is first bunched so that it lies wholly within the tie 29, but in order to insure that the packaging material is not damaged, the tie is bent around the bunched packaging material so that the butt ends do not come near the packaging material, but are pointed outwardly of the tie. It is the round smooth side surfaces of the wire which always face the packaging material, and it is the portions of these surfaces at the ends of the length of wire which forms the tie which are pressed together by the blades 27 and 28.

The packaging material will never be pinched because the wire is round, and it will never be punctured because no sharp edges come near it.

When the ties have been crimped into place, the bunched packaging material extending between the ties is cut. The crank arm 19a is caused to rotate in the opposite direction to the arrow in FIG. 9 when the lever 23 strikes the abutment 22, thus drawing blade 19 down and across the portion 3 of the tube, cutting the flattened portion of the tube and servering it.

Thereupon the shafts 27a and 28a are rotated in the opposite direction and the rod 34 is raised moving the arms 32 away from the package and raising the cutting blade, withdrawing the tying blades, and withdrawing the blades 8, 8', 9 and 9'. The slider 31 is then moved in the opposite direction to return the blades to their original position. The path taken by the blades 8, 8', 9 and 9 is shown in FIG. 5.

When the blades 8 and 8' are moved against the filled package, the material within the package is squeezed back toward the injection cylinder 2, and unless steps are taken to prevent it, part of the material will be squeezed out around the outside of the injection cylinder 2 between the tubular packaging material and the tube, as shown in FIG. 16. The filling portion of the apparatus according to the present invention as shown in FIGS. 14 and is designed to prevent such an occurrence.

The hopper 1 opens through a hopper outlet 54 into the interior of a feeding cylinder 53 closed by a head 53a at one end, and having a piston 46 slidable into the cylinder 53 from the other end. In the inner end of the piston 46 is a quarter circular groove 41, shown clearly in the cross section of FIG. 15. The dimension of the groove in the direction of the length of the piston 41} is such that when the bottom portion of the piston 49 covers an outlet opening 56 in the cylinder 53, the groove 41 opens into the inlet opening corresponding to the hopper outlet 54. The injection cylinder 2 is connected to the feeding cylinder 53 at the outlet opening 56.

The piston 46 is reciprocated in the feeding cylinder 53 and is also rotated 180 therein. The end of the piston projecting from the cylinder 53 is coupled to a shaft 42 which has a gear 43 thereon in engagement with a second gear 44 on a shaft 44:: parallel to the shaft 42 and mounted on the casing 60 in a manner not shown. Also mounted on the parallel shaft 44:: is a helicoidal gear 45a which meshes periodically with a gear 45 having teeth over only a part of the periphery thereof. The gear 45 is driven from the drive shaft of the apparatus by a belt of chain drive 61.

Also on the shaft 42 is a rotatable and pivotable connection 46 to which is pivoted one end of a link 48 which has the other end pivoted at 47 to the casing 60 and which has a slot 49 therein. In the slot 49 is slidably mounted oneend of a second link 52 which has a slot at the center thereof slidable on a pin 50 on the casing 60. The other end of the second link 52 is pivoted eccentrically on eccentric 51 on the gear 45.

In operation, as the gear 45 rotates, the eccentric 51 causes the link 52 to oscillate link 43 around the pivot 47, and thus reciprocate the shaft 42, driving the piston 49 first into the cylinder 53 and then withdrawing it. At the same time, a short time after the piston has left the innermost position, the sector gear 45 will engage gear 45a, thus rotating gear 44a and gear 43 and therefore shaft 42 through This rotation is such as to cause the slot 41 to open upwardly, as shown in FIG. 14. When the shaft 42 is moved back to withdraw the piston 40, to the position as shown in FIG. 14, the material from the hopper will be drawn into the cylinder 53 while the outlet 56 is blocked by the piston. Thereupon the sector gear again engages the gear 45, again rotating the shaft 42 through 180 with the groove down. When the piston 40 is driven in, the material is forced out of the cylinder through the outlet 56, while the hopper outlet 54 is blocked.

The start of the withdrawal of piston 40 is thus timed in relation to the movement of blades 3 and 8' so that the withdrawal starts at the same time as the blades squeeze the tubular package together, and before the slot 41 is turned to the upwardly open position so that a certain amount of material is drawn back into the injection cylinder. Thus avoiding the squeezing of material out around the outside of the injection cylinder.

It is thought that the invention and its advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it is apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described and illustrated in the drawings being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for producing filled containers in the form of a tubular casing tied off and sealed on both ends, comprising an injection cylinder, a package material supply means feeding a strip of packaging material to and around said injection nozzle to form a tube of packaging material around said injection nozzle, sealing means bearing on said injection nozzle for sealing the packaging material into a tube, tube pressing means spaced from the end of said injection nozzle, said pressing means being movable toward the path of the tube as it moves from the injection nozzle past said tube pressing means, and being movable in the direction of feed of said tube to form a portion of the length of the tube with the sides pressed together, a cutter means positioned along the extension of the axis of said injection nozzle adjacent said pressing means and movable toward and transversely of the extension of the axis of the injection nozzle, tube tying means adjacent said cutter, said tube tying means having holding means adapted to hold a V-shaped tie having transverse end surfaces at the free ends of the legs of the V and inside opposed lateral surfaces on the legs of the V, tie bending means adjacent said holding means and movable toward the legs of the V-shaped die for bending the legs toward each other, and tie clamping means opposed to said holding means and cooperating with said tie bending means for bending the ends of the tie together with the inside opposed lateral surfaces of the tie abutting each other, and said cutter means having a pair of guide members each having a guide recess therein, said guide members being movable toward the extension of the axis of said injection nozzle to engage a portion of the tube of packaging material which has been pressed flat by said pressing means and bunch it and hold it bunched while said tying means forms the tie, and feed means for feeding the material to be packaged to said injection nozzle for a predetermined period of time and then withdrawing a small portion of the material fed in synchronism with the movement of said pressing means toward said injection nozzle.

2. An apparatus for producing filled containers in the form of a tubular casing tied off and sealed on both ends, comprising an injection cylinder, a package material supply means feeding a strip of packaging material to and around said injection nozzle to form a tube packaging material around said injection nozzle, sealing means hearing on said injection nozzle for sealing the packaging material into a tube, tube pressing means spaced from the end of said injection nozzle, said pressing means being movable toward the path of the tube as it moves from the injection nozzle past said tube pressing means, and being movable in the direction of feed of said tube to form a portion of the length of the tube with the sides pressed together, a cutter means positioned along the extension of the axis of said injection nozzle adjacent said pressing means and movable toward and transversely of the extension of the axis of the injection nozzle, tube tying means having two pairs of opposed plates, one pair on each side of said cutter, one of said tube tying plates in each pair having a recess therein and having a pair of spring loaded converging tie holding arms slidably mounted therein and converging toward the recess, the said ends of said arms being adapted to hold a V-shaped tie, and the other tube tying plate in each pair having a crimping recess therein for bending the ends of the V-shaped tie together with the lateral surfaces of the tie abutting each other, and said cutter means having a pair of guide members each having a guide recess therein aligned with said crimping recess in said one tube tying plate, said guide members being movable toward the extension of the axis of said injection nozzle to engage a portion of the tube of packaging material which has been pressed flat by said pressing means and bunch it into said recesses in said other tube tying plates and hold it bunched while said one tying plates move toward the said other tube tying plates, tying plate moving means on which said opposed plates are mounted for moving said plates toward and away from each other, and feed means for feeding the material to be packaged to said injection nozzle for a predetermined period of time and then withdrawing a small portion of the material fed in synchronism with the movement of said pressing means toward said injection nozzle.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2 in which each of said other tube tying plates has two angular grooves in which said arms are slidable, the edge of said plate between the ends of said arms and the ends of said arms toward said recess in said plate defining a V-shaped recess for holding said V-shaped tie.

4. In an apparatus for producing filled containers in the form of a tubular casing tied off and sealed on both ends and an injection cylinder, a package material supply means feeding a strip of packaging material to and around the injection nozzle to form a tube of packaging material around the injection nozzle, sealing means bearing on the injection nozzle for sealing the packaging material into a tube, tube pressing means spaced from the end of the injection nozzle, the pressing means being movable toward the path of the tube as it moves from the injection nozzle past the tube pressing means, and being movable in the direction of feed of said tube to form a portion of the length of the tube with the sides pressed together, a cutter means positioned along the extension of the axis of the injection nozzle adjacent the pressing means and movable toward and transversely of the extension of the axis of the injection nozzle, the cutter means having a pair of guide members each having a guide recess therein, the guide members being movable toward the extension of the axis of the injection nozzle to engage a portion of the tube of packaging material which has been pressed flat by the pressing means and bunch it and to hold it bunched for tying, and feed means for feeding the material to be packaged to the injection nozzle for a predetermined period of time and then withdrawing a small portion of the material fed in sychronism with the movement of said pressing means toward said injection nozzle, that improvement comprising tube tying means adjacent said cutter, said tube tying means having holding means adapted to hold a V-shaped tie having transverse end surfaces at the free ends of the legs of the V and inside opposed lateral surfaces on the legs of the V, tie bending means adajcent said holding means and movable toward the legs of the V-shaped die for bending the legs toward each other, and tie clamping means opposed to said holding means and cooperating with said tie bending means for bending the ends of the tie together with the inside opposed lateral surfaces of the tie abutting each other and tying means moving means on which said holding means and cooperating forming means are mounted for moving said holding means and cooperating forming means toward and away from each other.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,673,683 6/28 Ingram 53-138 X 2,103,817 12/37 Johnson 141l16 2,605,036 7/52 Cozzoli 141-l16 X 2,793,481 5/57 Rado 5318O X 2,795,092 6/57 Rabinowitz 53138 X 2,802,324 8/ 57 Rado 53-180 X 2,828,591 4/58 Vanden Bossche 5318O X 2,831,302 4/58 Jensen et a1. 53-l82 X 3,023,936 3/62 Marsh et al l41l16 X 3,027,695 4/62 Leasure 53182 GRANVILLE Y. CUSTER, JR., Primary Examiner.

ROBERT A. LEIGHEY, FRANK E. BAILEY,

Examiners. 

1. AN APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING FILLED CONTAINERS IN THE FORM OF A TUBULAR CASING TIED OFF AND SEALED ON BOTH ENDS, COMPRISING AN INJECTION CYLINDER, A PACKAGE MATERIAL SUPPLY MEANS FEEDING A STRIP OF PACKAGING MATERIAL TO AND AROUND SAID INJECTION NOZZLE TO FORM A TUBE OF PACKAGING MATERIAL AROUND SAID INJECTION NOZZLE, SEALING MEANS BEARING ON SAID INJECTION NOZZLE FOR SEALING THE PACKAGING MATERIAL INTO A TUBE, TUBE PRESSING MEANS SPACED FROM THE END OF SAID INJECTION NOZZLE, SAID PRESSING MEANS BEING MOVABLE TOWARD THE PATH OF THE TUBE AS IT MOVES FROM THE INJECTION NOZZLE PAST SAID TUBE PRESSING MEANS, AND BEING MOVABLE IN THE DIRECTION OF FEED OF SAID TUBE TO FROM A PORTION OF THE LENGTH OF THE TUBE WITH THE SIDES PRESSED TOGETHER, A CUTTER MEANS POITIONED ALONG THE EXTENSION OF THE AXIS OF SAID INJECTION NOZZLE ADJACENT SAID PRESSING MEANS AND MOVABLE TOWARD AND TRANSVERSELY OF THE EXTENSION OF THE AXIS OF THE INJECTION NOZZLE, TUBE TYING MEANS ADJACENT SAID CUTTER, SAID TUBE TYING MEANS HABING HOLDING MEANS ADAPTED TO HOLD A V-SHAPED TIE HAVING TRANSVERSE END SURFACES AT THE FREE ENDS OF THE LEGS OF THE V AND INSIDE OPPOSED LATERAL SURFACES ON THE LEGS OF THE V, TIE BENDING MEANS ADJACENT SAID HOLDING MEANS AND MOVABLE TOWARD THE LEGS OF THE V-SHAPED DIE FOR BENDING THE LEGS TOWARD EACH OTHER, AND TIE CLAMPING MEANS OPPOSED TO SAID HOLDING MEANS AND COOPERATING WITH SAID TIW BENDING EMANS FOR BENDING THE ENDS OF THE TIW TOGETHER WITH THE INSIDE OPPOSED LATERAL SURFACES OF THE TIE ABUTTING EACH OTHER, AND SAID CUTTER MEANS HAVING A PAIR OF GUIDE MEMBERS EACH HAVING A GUIDE RECESS THEREIN, SAID GUIDE MEMBERS BEING MOVABLE TOWARD THE EXTENSION OF THE AXIS OF SAID INJECTION NOZZLE TO ENGAGE A PORTION OF THE TUBE OF PACKAGING MATERIAL WHICH HAS BEEN PRESSED FLAT BY SAID PRESING MEANS AND BUNCH IT AND HOLD IT BUNCHED WHILE SAID TYING MEANS FORMS THE TIE, AND FEED MEANS FOR FEEDING THE MATERIAL TO BE PACKAGED TO SAID INJECTION NOZZLE FOR A PREDETERMINED PERIOD OF TIME AND THEN WITHDRAWING A SMALL PORTION OF THE MATERIAL FED IN SYNCHRONISM WITH THE MOVEMENT OF SAID PRESSING MEANS TOWARD SAID INJECTION NOZZLE. 